Sunsail club colona any tips/info ? bvi charter tips

Jobs_a_ good_ un

Jobs_a_ good_ un

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home bristol boat where ever we end up
www.beneteau393.co.uk
Off to Club Colona for half term for 1 week then Charter BVI for 2nd week
Has anyone got any info on club colona ie system for dinghy hire ,do you have to book day before ?
Are they always availiable or is there long queues
Is the food anygood ?
any info appreciated

itinery as follows for the bvi Ive had quite a bit of help with this from a forum member but any info /views would be useful

Day 1
Sunsail base, Hodges Creek Marina, Tortola
If you’ve pre-provisioned your yacht online all you need to do is drop off your bags and relax at the marina’s waterfront restaurant with a snack or cocktail to celebrate the start of a fantastic vacation!

Day 2
Marina Cay, 6miles/ 1hr
A small and intimate eight acre island resort with gift shop and welcoming restaurant.

Day 3
Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour, 6miles/ 1hr
Spend an unforgettable morning at The baths, home to a unique rock formation with a myriad of secret pools and caves. Spend the evening at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour.

Day 4
Biras Creek, Gorda Sound, 9miles/ 2hrs
If you enjoyed The Baths you have chance to visit there again or walk through the caves to Devil's Bay, a beautiful beach around the southern side. Why not also visit Bitter End Yacht Club at North Sound?

Day 5
Cane Garden Bay, 21miles/ 4hrs
This sweeping bay has a great choice of activities and watersports, bars and places to eat ashore.

Day 6
The Bight, Norman Island, 15miles/ 3hrs
The Bight is well-known for fun dinners and wild party nights on board the William Thornton (Willy T) ship anchored here and for superb snorkeling at The Caves just around the bay.

Day 7
Sunsail base, Hodges Creek Marina 12miles /4-5hrs
More fantastic cuising before your last night farewell party.
 
Hi, hope you enjoy your holiday. Itinerary looks good, but try to get out to Jost van Dyke if you can. A visit to Foxy's in Great Harbour is a must. The parties on Willy T's in the Bight can be riotous, especially later on when a T shirt is awarded to any woman who jumps off the boat nekkid.

Club Collona is great. No need to book dinghies or queue. There are plenty of boats, just turn up on the beach and one of the staff will prepare your boat and see you off. Wide range of craft as well. They also catch you when you return and de-rig your boat. All you have to do is concentrate on the tan.

Only slight problem is that the sea is quite open at the club and there can be a fair swell with the prevailing easterlies. Don't take one of the Dart Cats unless you are confident of being able to right it if you capsize or pitchpole. Saw one guy spending nearly an hour in the water trying to right his with the help of the safety boats.

There are some motor boats you can book the day before for a trip to Prickly Pear Island. Not really essential unless you like driving motor boats. The food is adequate/good mainly buffet style. Not haute cuisine, but certainly very acceptable both in quality and quantity. Not much in the way of local restaurants near the club, so if you wanted to eat out it would probably involve a taxi ride. We never did eat out. Don't miss the excursion to Shirley Heights. Reggae and Steel Bands and a barbeque in the gathering dusk make for an unforgettable evening. Enjoy!
 
No need to book dinghies in advance - in fact there is no system for doing this except for race days. The system will made clear to you. Dinghy sailing is brilliant at Colonna because the wind is generally predictable, reliable and BIG. A great place to try out some high tech dinghies. I'll leave others to advise on your BVI charter but you'll have a good (if expensive) time.
Morgan
 
Last time i was there the food at colonic was prety rubbish, hope it's improved. You need leathery skin to be able to sail dinghies all day in hot sun altho it feels ok in wind - it isn't. The cocktail bar serves mostly ice at london prices so ask for "no ice" and get doubles. Bag a tablemiles from the bar cos the bar is full o flies cos they don't clean up very much. Then sepretly get some ice. The pool is ok, largest on the island it says. There's a problem with many of the rooms - some of the external villas stink of slightly dodgy drains, and formanyrooms in the main building the giant washing machines sound like helicopters have landed on the roof. About ten years ago the travel agent's inside track guide (Gazeteer) described club collonna as "tired and in need of a refit" which applies to most of antigua. Sorry antigua but many of you are very lazy. Doing some work would have been an answer but mostly you didn't fancy it, and now the government has (just a couple of weeks ago, end janury 2007) imposed sales tax so the price of everything has gone up 10-15%.

Have a great time!
 
If its any consolation, in the past couple of years the value of the pound has gone up enormously against the US$, and hence also against the EC$ and the BDS$ (as we are tied to the US - when Uncle Sam barks, we have to jump).
Two years ago there were 3 BDS to a GBP, now there are 4 - a 25 or 33% increase depending on how you look at it - which might help to absorb the shock of this new sales tax mentioned by tcm.
Or maybe not - would agree with your sentiments above re Antigua - although to be fair, I think a lot of it has to do with being run (erm, sorry, dictated) for 25+ years by the autocratic Bird Dynasty (new govt came in a few years ago), while being clobbered by fairly major hurricanes on a regular basis - enough I reckon to make anyone a bit different........

Have never been to Club Colonic, but am sure they must have some pretty good kit to use - make sure you take lots of sun cream (and sunblock), a good sunhat, a dinghy spraytop (to keep the sun off your shoulders - dont worry, you wont get hot in it at this time of year) and some good sunglasses.

St Johns is a bit of a dump, but English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour are well worth a visit - if you act like tourists they (the People in Authority) will hit you for entrance fee to get into English Harbour, but if you look like a typical grotty yotty and walk in as if you've been there for years, you will be ignored. Especially if you turn up in a bus rather than a taxi.

And has been suggested above, definitely attend the steelband bash at Shirley Heights which happens every Sunday evening - watching the sun go down over English & Falmouth Harbours over a wicked rum punch is quite the business.
 
Agree with another post about a visit to Jost Van Dyke, White bay for lunch (Althought the soggy dollar bar was over rated) then Foxys for the evening.

I was dissapointed with the bite on Norman Island. The only place where I remember the water being less than crystal clear. The only thing of interest was Willy T's

Snorkling over the wreck of the Rhone (Salt Island IIRC) was pretty interesting too

Marina Cay is picture postcard stuff but whilst you are up that side of the island try the last resort in Trellis Bay. A couple of interesting bars on the beach there as well.

Now look what you have done, I want to go back.... Time to start saving up again!
 
I hope you have a really good holiday.

At the club, Sunsail have spent quite a bit recently to create a health club, for spa treatments etc. Should go down well with SWMBO. Food very average - quantity great - quality less than great. If you hire a car when you are there, do expect some enormous pot-holes, easily big enough to wreck the tyre and the wheel in one go! Warning, you will not be insured for this!

Dinghies in plentiful supply, except maybe for regatta day. They will explain how to book, if there is too much demand. Logic motor boats are fun for a short while, but they are underpowered and left me with a sense of what might have been.....

St Johns is nothing special, but do try and get to the Dockyard and Shirley heights - don't forget to take a camera - the views are spectacular.

Winds will be pretty constant - and probably higher than you might be expecting.

Have a great trip! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
There's not much happening on day 1 and 2. When do you get your boat handed over? Perhaps head over to Marina Cay first night out and head over to the Baths and Virgin Gorda second night out. That gains you a day.

Gorda Sound is pretty cool. We stayed one night at Leverick Bay and the second off Saba Rock.

Cane Garden Bay can be busy. I'd second the recommendation to spend some time at JVD. We just about managed to find enough water depth in White Bay to spend the night.

There's some decent snorkelling at the Caves on Norman Island so that's not a bad choice.



Traveltalk Online's BVI forum is a good place for BVI specific info.
 
Went to Club Colonna in 2000.......fantastic.....all dinghies in tip top condition, turn up on beach, the beach squad will rig whatever you want, when I was there the cat's were Darts, not ideal for the big sea that always runs there but great fun....I believe these have been changed for Hobie Cats that will be ideal. Always a good wind 20kts blowing with associated lumpy sea so not the best place for a novice, the water so so so warm. Each week they hold a regatta, I won the Laser race, beat all the yanks that was great, choose the Laser radial with the smaller rig as in that wind and sea it is ideal.

Do the trip to "Prickly Pear" island in one of the motor launches, also another trip to a great snorkeling reef, another trip to Dickenson Bay is also a must......Mingle with the folk, all ages there but we had a great time in our late 40's then but mixed with all ages...........the worst thing about it and the reason I would not go back was the long long long flight in a crappy 757 with my knees around my ears, not direct but via St Thomas USVI.

Enjoy, I really am jelous!!

Paul.
 
BVI's my favourite place
Narrow channel out of Hodges creek
Marina cay a wonderful place.... take the opportunity to wander around the island, also nice snorkelling over the reef.
Bitter end/Saba rock in Gorda sound.. Saba rock amazing, again walk around the island, its not just a bar. Also does cheaper air con rooms for yotties if its too hot on board.
Check out the Sandbox bar in Gorda sound, anchor in 15' , its the archetypal beach bar and great to watch the world go by.
The Bight is OK but get in early coz its very popular with the Moorings crowd. Snorkelling at the caves.
Sopers hole... lovely place to stop best supermarket is the big pink place. also take the dingy up to the end and under the bridge to Frenchmans cay.
JVD... great bay is slightly iffy anchoring but shld be OK if well buried. Alternatively White bay, sogy dollar bar is OK for a quick look but the other one is better. Beware sandflies.
Sandy cay is a pretty lunch stop but can catch the swell.
Hodges Creek/Sunsail base.... try to get a berth on the last night as far out towards the hammerhead as poss.... its cooler and quieter. Eat at Fat Hog bobs.. out from s'sail base, turn left and 200 yds walk.. good barbeque.
Showers / toilets at the base are not impressive.. have not improved over the last 4 years.
Say Hi to Philmore... hes the skipper.
Chart briefings excellent.
food is steak/burgers/ribs and crab cakes
Have fun, we love the place.
 
put 'weather forecast beef island' into google for forecast.
Also there are webcams at 'leverick bay' and on the 'Pussers rum' websites.
would recommend going to Saba rock rather than 'The fat virgin cafe' at biras creek.
worth looking at
 
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